The day for taxation will come. For now, Sunak must budget for growth

No 11's warnings of bombshell' tax rises may have been confected. But if they were true, they would be a mistake

Caught on the steps of Downing Street, Rishi Sunak had a message to send last week. Whether or not the lapse was deliberate, the capture of the chancellor's notes by a press photographer played a useful role in laying the ground for his autumn budget.

There would be no horror show of tax rises with no end in sight", read the note Sunak was taking with him to a meeting of nervous backbench Tory MPs, unsettled that the party of low taxes was on the road to embracing Corbynomics.

Sunak has developed a reputation as a savvy media operator. After the whipping-up of a media storm, modest tax rises will sound much better to the Tory faithful